Meeks' shooting fills big need for the Pistons

Detroit Pistons guard Jodie Meeks shows his new jersey at the team's practice facility in Auburn Hills, Mich., Monday, July 14, 2014. The Pistons hope he can provide some much-needed perimeter shooting this season under new coach Stan Van Gundy.(AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

AUBURN HILLS >> The Pistons came into the offseason needing desperately to add shooting on the perimeter.

As Pistons president of basketball operations and head coach Stan Van Gundy, general manager Jeff Bower and the rest of the Pistons front office began to study film of free agents it became clear who they wanted to target and that player was Jodie Meeks.

Meeks could shoot and after doing some background the Pistons found out Meeks also had the high character they were looking for.

“We were spending all day, every day watching film on free agents,” Van Gundy said. “Jodie is sort of the guy that emerged. It stood out just looking at the numbers, but the more we watched on film with the competitiveness, the energy and everything else.

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“We talked to everybody he’s played for in the NBA. Did a lot of background. As a lifelong coach, as somebody that grew up around it, I really care a lot about what other coaches say and the things they said about him in terms of his work ethic and him as a teammate, and everything else. Put that with what we were watching on film and what the numbers said, and he vaulted to the top of our list very quickly. There was really no dissenters among our staff of the people watching film.”

Meeks became the Pistons primary target in free agency and Van Gundy said the team aggressively pursued him as soon as free agency began. Meeks agreed to a three-year deal worth more than $19 million on the first day of free agency.

Meeks liked that Detroit showed so much interest and felt it was a good fit that allowed him to compete for a starting job after his breakout season last year.

“That’s what I was looking for, come in and compete for a starting job,” Meeks said. “I know they need shooting and that’s what I bring to the table.

“It was a good situation for myself, to come in and get a lot of minutes and be on a good team,” Meeks added. “We have some really good players on this team. I think we’ll make some noise especially with all the moves that’s going in free agency. The East is wide open so I definitely think we’ll make some noise this year.”

Meeks is known for his outside shooting, but feels he brings more to the table than just shooting. Meeks felt he was able to show there was more to his game last season after the injury to Kobe Bryant allowed him to get more minutes.

“Coming into (last) season I was pretty much known as just a spot-up shooter,” Meeks said. “It was unfortunate for Kobe, but fortunate for me that I got to expand my game. I got the chance to run some point guard and really show people what I could do. I’m not just a spot-up shooter, I’m a scorer. And a pretty underrated defender in my opinion. I play hard every night and try to do whatever I can to help the team win.”

Van Gundy agrees Meeks is more than just a shooter and feels Meeks will continue to show that.

“He’s a lot more than a spot-up shooter,” Van Gundy said. “You can run him off screens, he’s great in transition, running on the break, he can put the ball on the floor and go to the rim. I think his athleticism, people don’t talk about enough. What happens in this league when you are a 3-point shooter, it’s what people focus on, I think the rest of your game sort of gets ignored. But we think he can do more than hit spot-up jumpers. I mean spot-up shooting wouldn’t have been enough. I think more than that what stood out with us is his energy level. He plays at a great pace all the time.”

Meeks will likely compete with second-year player Kentavious Caldwell-Pope for the bulk of the shooting guard minutes. Caldwell-Pope is coming off an impressive showing in the Orlando summer league where he averaged 24 points, 7.4 rebounds and 1.8 steals.

Meeks doesn’t mind the competition and Van Gundy can see the two playing together.

“For me, I like competition,” Meeks said. “That kind of stuff just makes me play well. We’re on the same team, it’s not like we’re enemies. Regardless of the situation, I’m going to root for him and hopefully he roots for me. This is a family environment.”

“I think at that position, with (Meeks) and KCP, we’ll always have a guy on the floor at that position that plays at an extremely high energy level, that’s very athletic,” Van Gundy said. “So many teams in this league like to downsize now, I think you’ll see us play pretty significant minutes with them playing together on the wing and really having great, great quickness on the floor. So I think it opens up a lot of possibilities for us.”

Meeks is one of five free agents the Pistons have picked up in the offseason. D.J. Augustin and Caron Butler agreed to deals late Sunday night and will have an introductory press conference on Tuesday.

Augustin agreed to a two-year, $6 million deal, while Butler will make $4.5 million next season with a team option for a second year.

Detroit also agreed to deals with Cartier Martin and Aaron Gray.

Pistons big man Greg Monroe remains a restricted free agent and Van Gundy said there is nothing new to report on the Monroe front. Monroe is free to talk to other teams, but Detroit can match any deal he signs.